


Through the Darkness I Will Face

by Sagnessagiel



Category: The Nightblade Epic - Garrett Robinson, Underrealm (Books)
Genre: An angry wizard king, Other, Spoilers, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 21:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18081527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagnessagiel/pseuds/Sagnessagiel
Summary: A wizard king does not relent without a fight.





	Through the Darkness I Will Face

Nuhastood at the doors to her palace and looked out over the city beyond. It was utterly silent.

Were it another way, mayhap it would have been in ruins by now. The high king's men had marched through it that morning, urging her people to flee in the name of the new decree. Nuha had ignored it for too long. Now it would have to be addressed at last. 

Two companies of soldiers stood before her, one her own crown guard and the other that of the high king. The irony had occurred to her that the moment the two kingdoms would come to a head, both of their armies were elsewhere, leaving only their most high ranking soldiers to settle the matter at hand. Andriana was conspicuously missing. Nuhacould not honestly blame her for that particular decision. 

The sun was high above them. In broad daylight the high king had sent her men and women to incite this insult to justice on the very steps of Nuha'spalace. The thought sparked something deep and dark within her, a feeling that was not her own but the gift of the stones in her stomach. For months she had made her will clear, and now Andriana was coming to show how surely she meant her words. This was all a farce, as was the rule of the high king by this point. 

It was clear that the soldiers knew what would happen. There was a certain shift within their ranks which spoke of impatience, passing through them like ripples on the surface of a pond. Tensions were rising, higher and higher, and the wizard king was more than content to let it be so. She had been waiting for an opportunity to show her discontent as it was. Andriana delivering her royal company was just such an opportunity. 

She argued with the high king's messenger, but even that was for show. To every word he said, she had a scathing reply aimed to dismiss him. It was a show, all of it, meant to stoke the unrest among the soldiers.

It was already over, yet they still thought they could convince her. None of them would make it back to the Seat. If Andriana wanted her will done, then she would have to enforce it herself. 

She could see in the messenger's face that he was beginning to give in to her goading. He would never have dared to insult a wizard king upon the throne, decree or no, in her own capital city. Yet she could see it in the set of his jaw, the tilt of his brow. He was becoming as angry as the soldiers. 

It was true that her own soldiers were the angriest. She might have considered it a fondness were she less pragmatic than she was, but Nuha was under no illusions. She knew the fear that sat at the hearts of each of the men and women stood at her side of the conflict. They would not break, would not defect, until she was taken from the throne by a force greater than herself. 

Very well, she thought then. If Andriana wanted to attempt it, then Nuha would march to the golden city of the High King's Seat, and she would challenge the high king herself. There was nothing else left to do, and she had wasted enough time on these insults. 

And so she goaded and coaxed, not only the messenger, not only the enemy troops, but her own men and women as well. Their anger was one driven by chilling fear, and they would fight to the death for it. She would kill them if they refused. 

Her efforts were successful. The fighting started like the spark of a flame. It was one word spoken too soon, too recklessly, and a soldier dove at another. Nuhaallowed it, and her generals took her nod for approval to rally their people. They had been provoked by the high king's soldiers, and history would see that if she had to be the one to write it.

They were not two armies meeting in a field. This was a company each, rallied by too many leaders and not enough warriors in one place. The result was a chaos none of them would be able to control. She felt oddly at peace with that, for her thoughts were somewhere else entirely. 

If she were to make her way to the palace, this was as good a place as any to begin. 

"Leave me," she said to the guards stationed at her sides. Her voice was calm, and yet they were all able to hear her amongst the shouting. Her eyes were already darkening with magic.

The guards, who had been witness to many an incident in the throne room, were well aware of the fury which could possess their king. This was something different. What had overtaken her at this moment was not an explosive anger, but a sort of calm before the storm. Her anger had mounted beyond the rational over the course of weeks, months, and now she had just cause at last to release it upon those who were deserving. 

Her guards retreated towards the doors. They would find her children in the palace and bring them to safety. They knew well enough about their king to know of the best course they could take. 

A soldier of the high king fell before her feet, gasping for breath as his blood seeped from many wounds onto the stone steps. His eyes caught hers, and he gazed upon her as though she were an elf. A terrible, mighty creature who could save him should she want to, but who would most certainly watch him die instead. 

Nuha'slips thinned. Her fury had been carefully contained until now, but this was an insult beyond all others. Now, with her own soldiers falling around her and mingling with the bodies of the vermin of the Seat, she decided that enough was enough. It was one thing to grandstand before her court and another entirely to incite another war based on self centred whims. Andriana would pay for this arrogance, and so would her fool son. Nuha would twist his head from his shoulders with her own hands. 

Another soldier was coming towards her, a fire in his eyes that she had not seen for some time. This was a worthy man, and one which would have served the high king well should he not have made a decision as foolhardy as that of attacking a wizard king head on. 

She caught the sword with one outstretched hand. It closed around the steel and she squeezed, softening the metal and moulding it as though she were holding a lump of dough. She pulled roughly, and the soldier came flying at her, his balance unsettled by the sudden momentum. 

Her other hand formed a claw and she tore through his armour as though it were paper. Then she tore through him just the same. She looked into his eyes as her fingers closed around the hard bone of a rib, and at once the realisation became clear in his eyes. His mouth hung open, his voice gone, until she twisted her fingers and infused the bone with blackstone.

He fell to the ground like a discarded rag doll, gasping for enough air even to scream as it took over him, blackening his limbs and turning them to wilting ash. Nuhawatched as the world turned a dark grey before her. Her magic would not leave these steps until every soldier of the high king was dead and spread to the wind. 

All around her, her own soldiers began to panic and flee, knowing well the wrath of their king, but the high king's guard was not to be deterred. She grabbed the next solider by the visor of her helmet, squeezing until it crumpled into her eyes and she screamed in pain and terror. She let the sickness seep from her fingers like black ooze, and the woman clutched at her head screaming until she died. The next two she turned to stone, capturing their terrified expressions before crushing them with fierce blows.

One by one they fell before her, and she carved a path down the steps of her palace. Blood ran at her feet, staining her fine shoes and trailing after her along the white stone. If they would turn away from her, she would wring their eyes from their skulls, and then they would see her grace and mercy.

Andriana would not take anything from her, least of all the right to rule. She would lay waste to Underrealm first. 


End file.
